Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Spring Cleaning

Hey all
I'm not really spring cleaning, but it's a glorious idea, isn't it? I've been on a minor hiatus recently since I'm in between books so I've been trying to just relax- for once. I'm so anxious to get working on my next book though its hard to relax. I can't talk about the project yet but all I will say is "anteater." Once I can reveal more I'll let you know!

This past month though wasn't completely uneventful. I attended this year's Western Washington SCBWI Conference a few weeks ago and it was great! Lots of great speakers presented, like the awesomely talented Renata Lewiska. I got to talk with her a bit and she is so sweet and honest. She is just such a fantastic illustrator and I was extra inspired by how much she draws her animals from her own life experiences. I try to do that with my work, but I was even more inspired to dig deeper! And after her great sketchbook workshop, I realized that I think I've been using the wrong drawing tools in my sketchbook- which has personally hampered some sketchbook momentum. So crazy what sort of "ah-ha moments" you get at the conference. I always walk away with something inspiring and interesting from going to the conferences- they are never a let down in that respect!

Also, big news at the conference, I was runner up in the portfolio showcase! Woo Hoo! It was cool to be so highly honored by my peers and professionals!

Other than that I'm working on oodles of ideas for new stories which is always fun, exciting, and sometimes frustrating. But I love it so I'm up for the challenge!

So I better get back to it!